the topic of the mandatory volunteer prgram just came up and the office, and i wanted to post this to see if you guys had any thoughts on it?

here is the description from the poster on youtube:

Quote:

Thursday, March 19, 2009 The House passed a bill yesterday which includes disturbing language indicating young people will be forced to undertake mandatory national service programs as fears about President Barack Obamas promised civilian national security force intensify.

The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, known as the GIVE Act, was passed yesterday by a 321-105 margin and now goes to the Senate.

Under section 6104 of the bill, entitled Duties, in subsection B6, the legislation states that a commission will be set up to investigate, Whether a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed, and how such a requirement could be implemented in a manner that would strengthen the social fabric of the Nation and overcome civic challenges by bringing together people from diverse economic, ethnic, and educational backgrounds.

Section 120 of the bill also discusses the Youth Engagement Zone Program and states that service learning will be a mandatory part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency.

The legislation, slated to cost $6 billion over five years, would create 175,000 new service opportunities under AmeriCorps, bringing the number of participants in the national volunteer program to 250,000. It would also create additional corps to expand the reach of volunteerism into new sectors, including a Clean Energy Corps, Education Corps, Healthy Futures Corps and Veterans Service Corps, and it expands the National Civilian Community Corps to focus on additional areas like disaster relief and energy conservation, reports Fox News.

The Senate is also considering a similar piece of legislation known as the Serve America Act, which also includes language about Youth Engagement Zones.

Fears about Obamas plans to create involuntary servitude were first stoked in July 2008, when Obama told a rally in Colorado Springs, We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives weve set. Weve got to have a civilian national security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded.

Despite denials that Obama plans to institute a mandatory program of national service, his original change.gov website stated that Americans would be required to complete 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. The text was only later changed to state that Americans would be encouraged to undertake such programs.

The bills opponents — and there are only a few in Congress — say it could cram ideology down the throats of young volunteers, many of whom could be forced into service since the bill creates a Congressional Commission on Civic Service, reports Fox.

We contribute our time and money under no government coercion on a scale the rest of the world doesnt emulate and probably cant imagine, said Luke Sheahan, contributing editor for the Family Security Foundation. The idea that government should order its people to perform acts of charity is contrary to the idea of charity and it removes the responsibility for charity from the people to the government, destroying private initiative.

Lee Cary of the conservative American Thinker warns that Obamas agenda is to, tap into the already active volunteerism of millions of Americans and recruit them to become cogs in a gigantic government machine grinding out his social re-engineering agenda.

CFR luminary Gary Hart hit back at critics, claiming in a Huffington Post piece that, Resistance to expanded public service programs can be expected from the ideologically sclerotic, those who occupy the negative ground between government as the problem and government as our enemy.

The frightening prospect of Obamas mandatory government servitude is covered in-depth in Alex Jones new documentary blockbuster, The Obama Deception.

Good. I support having kids in high school go out and do volunteer work as part of their course curriculum. We need to get rid of this "me, me, me" philosophy and start focusing on community involvement. It turns out that Adam Smith's bullshit theory that greed is good still isn't quite right, as we watched individual greed put us into the place we are now. Everybody acting according to their self-interest does not always give us the best results.

"We contribute our time and money under no government coercion on a scale the rest of the world doesnt emulate and probably cant imagine, said Luke Sheahan, contributing editor for the Family Security Foundation."

This is always my favorite argument. But we already do more charity than other countries! Boo fucking hoo. That charity shouldn't be so necessary in the first place. We have more income inequality in this country than any other developed nation. We spend astronomically more money on health care than any other country yet we have lower standards of health (even if you are comparing wealthy Americans with insurance to average citizens in other countries). We need to wake the fuck up and face the facts - private industry is NOT always the best. YOU have more say in what your government does than in what the "invisible hand" decides is best. I trust the market to give me goods and services. I expect it to pick up with innovation. But I do not expect it to churn out the best circumstances for people. We need to reevaluate exactly what we value in this country - all of its people or the top 5%.

ck, i'm glad you chimed in. i'd like to get a lot of diverse opinions on this. maybe this will even entice x3 out of the woodwork. lol.

CloakedKilla wrote:

Good. I support having kids in high school go out and do volunteer work as part of their course curriculum.

i don't think the HS kids doing volunteer work is the really the whole issue, it also extends to middle school and college kids. also, from some of the working, they indicated it wouldn't be "volunteer" at all - it would be mandatory.

i'm not sure how something like this would be integrated then? does that mean the /volunteer/work would be part of the curriculum? if so, that's not really volunteer if it's a course requirement. is it considered as a supplement to studies, like after school programs? if it is, and it's voluntary, then how does that actually change anything from what we have now - why create an act that wouldn't change anything?

some of the things in the bill are kinda weird. it lists a lot of 'job' work, or what i would call a job. like "weatherizing and retrofitting housing units for low-income households to significantly improve the energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions of such housing units" wouldn't that be something that a trained professional would do? or that since teh unemployment rate rising, offering the jobs/training to them?

or "the repair, renovation, or rehabilitation of an existing infrastructure facility including, but not limited to, rail, mass transportation, ports, inland navigation, schools and hospitals" is that really a good idea to have middle school to college age children working on railways, mass transportation, ports, and inland navigation?

here is the bit from teh bill about the prgrams. it does state in the section title as "required":

Quote:

Sec. 1302. Required and eligible national service programs.

Section 122 is amended to read as follows:

‘SEC. 122. NATIONAL SERVICE PROGRAMS ELIGIBLE FOR PROGRAM ASSISTANCE.

‘(a) Required National Service Corps- The recipient of a grant under section 121(a) and each Federal agency operating or supporting a national service program under section 121(b) shall, directly or through grants or subgrants to other entities, carry out or support the following national service corps, as full- or part-time corps, including during the summer months, to address unmet educational, health, veteran, or environmental needs:

‘(1) EDUCATION CORPS- An Education Corps that identifies unmet educational needs within communities through activities such as those described in subparagraph (A) and meets or exceeds the performance indicators under subparagraph (B).

‘(A) ACTIVITIES- An Education Corps described in this paragraph may carry out activities such as--

‘(i) tutoring, or providing other academic support to students;

‘(ii) mentoring students, including adult or peer mentoring;

‘(iii) linking needed integrated services and comprehensive supports with students, their families, and their public schools;

‘(iv) improving school climate;

‘(v) providing assistance to a school in expanding the school day by strengthening the quality of staff and expanding the academic programming offered in an expanded learning time initiative, a program of a 21st century community learning center (as defined in section 4201 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7171)), or a high-quality after-school program, such as through recruiting, placing, training and supporting a full-time corps of Fellows who are graduates of 4-year institutions of higher education or 2-year institutions of higher education with a certificate or degree in youth development to administer the initiative or program at high-need school;

‘(vi) assisting schools and local educational agencies in improving and expanding high-quality service-learning programs that keep students engaged in schools by providing service-learning coordinators;

‘(vii) assisting students in being prepared for college-level work;

‘(viii) involving family members of students in supporting teachers and students;

‘(ix) conducting a pre-professional training program in which students enrolled in an institution of higher education--

‘(I) receive training in specified fields, which may include classes containing service-learning, including early childhood education, elementary and secondary education and other professions such as those in health care, criminal justice, environmental stewardship and conservation or public safety;

‘(II) perform service related to such training outside the classroom during the school term and during summer or other vacation periods; and

‘(III) agree to provide service upon graduation to meet unmet human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs related to such training;

‘(x) A campus-based program that is designed to provide substantial service in a community during the school term and during summer or other vacation periods through the use of--

‘(I) students who are attending an institution of higher education, including students participating in a work-study program assisted under part C of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.);

‘(II) teams composed of such students;

‘(III) teams composed of a combination of such students and community residents; or

‘(IV) students participating in service-learning programs at an institution of higher education;

‘(xi) a program that provides specialized training to individuals in service-learning and places the individuals after such training in positions, including positions as service-learning coordinators, to facilitate service-learning in programs eligible for funding under part I of subtitle B;

‘(xii) providing education or job training services that are designed to meet the needs of rural communities; and

‘(xiii) other activities addressing unmet educational needs as the Corporation may designate.

‘(B) EDUCATION CORPS INDICATORS- The corps indicators for a corps described in this paragraph are--

‘(iv) rate of college enrollment and continued college enrollment for recipients of a high school diploma;

‘(v) an additional indicator relating to improving education for students that the Corporation, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, establishes for a given year;

‘(vi) a local indicator (applicable to a particular eligible entity and on which an improvement in performance is needed) relating to improving education for students, proposed by that eligible entity in an application submitted to, and approved by, a State Commission or the Corporation under this section; and

‘(vii) any additional local indicator (applicable to a particular eligible entity and on which an improvement in performance is needed) that is approved by the Corporation.

‘(2) HEALTHY FUTURES CORPS- A Healthy Futures Corps that identifies unmet health needs within communities through activities such as those described in subparagraph (A) and meets or exceeds the performance indicators under subparagraph (B).

‘(A) ACTIVITIES- A Healthy Futures Corps described in this paragraph may carry out activities such as--

‘(ii) assisting individuals in obtaining access to health care for themselves or their children;

‘(iii) educating economically disadvantaged individuals and individuals who are members of medically underserved populations about, and engaging individuals described in this clause in, initiatives regarding navigating the health care system and regarding disease prevention and health promotion, with a particular focus on common health conditions, chronic diseases, and conditions, for which disease prevention and health promotion measures exist and for which socioeconomic, geographic, and racial and ethnic health disparities exist;

‘(vi) providing services designed to meet the needs of rural communities including the recruitment of youth to work in health professions in such communities;

‘(vii) addressing childhood obesity by providing volunteers to organize and supervise physical education classes and after school physical activities at elementary and secondary schools and providing nutrition education to students;

‘(ix) assisting in health promotion interventions that improve health status, and helping people adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles and habits to improve health status; and

‘(x) other activities addressing unmet health needs as the Corporation may designate.

‘(B) HEALTHY FUTURES CORPS INDICATORS- The corps indicators for a corps described in this paragraph are--

‘(i) access to health care among economically disadvantaged individuals and individuals who are members of medically underserved populations;

‘(ii) access to health care for uninsured individuals, including such individuals who are economically disadvantaged children;

‘(iii) participation, among economically disadvantaged individuals and individuals who are members of medically underserved populations, in disease prevention and health promotion initiatives, particularly those with a focus on addressing common health conditions, addressing chronic diseases, and decreasing health disparities;

‘(iv) health literacy of patients;

‘(v) an additional indicator, relating to improving or protecting the health of economically disadvantaged individuals and individuals who are members of medically underserved populations, that the Corporation, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, establishes for a given year;

‘(vi) a local indicator (applicable to a particular eligible entity and on which an improvement in performance is needed) relating to improving or protecting the health of economically disadvantaged individuals and individuals who are members of medically underserved populations, proposed by that eligible entity in an application submitted to, and approved by, a State Commission or the Corporation under this section; and

‘(vii) any additional local indicator (applicable to a particular eligible entity and on which an improvement in performance is needed) that is approved by the Corporation.

‘(3) CLEAN ENERGY CORPS- A Clean Energy Corps that identifies unmet environmental needs within communities through activities such as those described in subparagraph (A) and meets or exceeds the performance indicators under subparagraph (B).

‘(A) ACTIVITIES- A Clean Energy Corps described in this paragraph may carry out activities such as--

‘(i) weatherizing and retrofitting housing units for low-income households to significantly improve the energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions of such housing units;

‘(vii) working with schools and youth programs to educate students and youth about ways to reduce home energy use and improve the environment, including conducting service-learning projects to provide such education;

‘(viii) assisting in the development of local recycling programs;

‘(ix) improving national and State parks, city parks, county parks, forest preserves, and trails owned or maintained by the Federal Government or a State, including planting trees, carrying out reforestation, and making trail enhancements;

‘(x) cleaning and improving rivers maintained by the Federal Government or a State;

‘(xi) providing clean-energy-related services designed to meet the needs of rural communities;

‘(xii) full-time, year-round youth corps program or full-time summer youth corps program, such as a conservation corps or youth service corps that--

‘(II) includes as participants youths and young adults between the ages of 16 and 25, inclusive, including out-of-school youths and other disadvantaged youths (such as youths with limited basic skills, youths in foster care who are becoming too old for foster care, youths of limited-English proficiency, homeless youths, and youths who are individuals with disabilities), who are between those ages; and

‘(III) provides those participants who are youths and young adults with--

‘(aa) crew-based, highly structured, and adult-supervised work experience, life skills, education, career guidance and counseling, employment training, and support services including mentoring; and

‘(bb) the opportunity to develop citizenship values and skills through service to their community and the United States;

‘(xiii) projects in partnership with the National Park Service designed to renew and rehabilitate National Park resources and enhance services and learning opportunities for National Park visitors, communities, and schools; and

‘(xiv) other activities addressing unmet environmental needs as the Corporation may designate.

‘(B) CLEAN ENERGY CORPS INDICATORS- The corps indicators for a corps described in this paragraph are--

‘(i) the number of housing units of low-income households weatherized or retrofitted to significantly improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions;

‘(iii) the number of students and youth receiving education or training in energy-efficient and environmentally conscious practices;

‘(iv) the number of national parks, State parks, city parks, county parks, forest preserves, or trails or rivers owned or maintained by the Federal Government or a State, that are cleaned or improved;

‘(v) another indicator relating to clean energy that the Corporation, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Energy and the Department of Interior, as appropriate, establishes for a given year;

‘(vi) another indicator relating to education or skill attainment for clean energy jobs that the Corporation, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, establishes for a given year;

‘(vii) a local indicator (applicable to a particular eligible entity and on which an improvement in performance is needed) relating to clean energy, or education or skill attainment for clean energy jobs, proposed by that eligible entity in an application submitted to, and approved by, a State Commission or the Corporation under this section; and

‘(viii) any additional local indicator (applicable to a particular eligible entity and on which improvement in performance is needed) that is approved by the Corporation.

‘(4) Veterans’ CORPS- A Veterans’ Corps that identifies unmet needs of veterans through activities such as those described in subparagraph (A) and meets or exceeds the performance indicators under subparagraph (B).

‘(A) ACTIVITIES- A Veterans’ Corps described in this paragraph may carry out activities such as--

‘(i) promoting community-based efforts to meet the unique needs of military families while a family member is deployed and upon that family member’s return home;

‘(ii) recruiting veterans, particularly returning veterans, into service opportunities, including such opportunities that reflect their military experience;

‘(iii) working to assist veterans in developing their educational opportunities, including opportunities for professional certification, licensure, and credentials, including coordinating with and assisting State and local agencies administering veterans education benefits and programs for internships and fellowships that could lead to employment in the private and public sector;

‘(iv) promoting efforts within the community to serve the needs of veterans and members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty, including such efforts to help veterans file benefits claims and assist Federal agencies in providing services to veterans;

‘(vi) developing projects to assist disabled, rural, unemployed, and older veterans, including such projects that assist such veterans with transportation; and

‘(vii) other activities addressing unmet veterans’ needs as the Corporation may designate.

‘(B) Veterans’ CORPS INDICATORS- The corps indicators for a corps described in this paragraph are--

‘(i) the number of housing units created for veterans;

‘(ii) the number of veterans who pursue educational opportunities;

‘(iii) the number of veterans receiving professional certification;

‘(iv) outreach efforts to service organizations serving the needs to veterans;

‘(v) the number of veterans engaged in service opportunities;

‘(vi) the number of military families assisted by organizations while the family member is deployed and when the family member returns from deployment;

‘(vii) the number of economically disadvantaged students engaged in mentoring relationships with veterans;

‘(viii) projects designed to meet identifiable public needs with a specific emphasis on projects in support of veterans, especially disabled and older veterans;

‘(ix) another indicator relating to education or skill attainment that assists in providing veterans with the skills to address identifiable public needs, that is approved by the Corporation;

‘(x) other additional indicators that improve the lives of veterans and families of individuals deployed in service, that the Corporation, in consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, establishes for a given year; and

‘(xi) any additional local indicator (applicable to a particular eligible entity and on which an improvement in performance is needed) that is approved by the Corporation.

‘(5) PROGRAM MODELS FOR SERVICE CORPS- In addition to any activities described in paragraphs (1) through (4), a recipient of a grant under section 121(a) and a Federal agency operating or supporting a national service program under section 121(b) may directly or through grants or subgrants to other entities carry out a national service corps through the following program models:

‘(A) A community corps program that meets unmet human, educational, heath, veteran, environmental, or public safety needs and promotes greater community unity through the use of organized teams of participants of varied social and economic backgrounds, skill levels, physical and developmental capabilities, ages, ethnic backgrounds, or genders.

‘(B) A service program that--

‘(i) recruits individuals with special skills or provides specialized preservice training to enable participants to be placed individually or in teams in positions in which the participants can meet such unmet needs; and

‘(ii) if consistent with the purposes of the program, brings participants together for additional training and other activities designed to foster civic responsibility, increase the skills of participants, and improve the quality of the service provided.

‘(C) A campus based program that is designed to provide substantial service in a community during the school term and during summer or other vacation periods through the use of--

‘(i) students who are attending an institution of higher education, including students participating in a work study program assisted under part C of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.);

‘(ii) teams composed of such students; or

‘(iii) teams composed of a combination of such students and community residents.

‘(D) A professional corps program that recruits and places qualified participants in positions--

‘(i) as teachers, nurses and other health care providers, police officers, early childhood development staff, engineers, or other professionals providing service to meet educational, human, environmental, or public safety needs in communities with an inadequate number of such professionals;

‘(ii) that may include a salary in excess of the maximum living allowance authorized in subsection (a)(3) of section 140, as provided in subsection (c) of such section; and

‘(iii) that are sponsored by public or private employers who agree to pay 100 percent of the salaries and benefits (other than any national service educational award under subtitle D) of the participants.

‘(E) Such other program models as approved by the Corporation or a State commission, as appropriate.

‘(b) Eligible Opportunity Corps Programs- The recipient of a grant under section 121(a) and each Federal agency operating or supporting a national service program under section 121(b) shall, directly or through grants or subgrants to other entities, carry out or support full-or part-time national service programs, including summer programs, to address unmet community needs.

‘(1) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS- National service programs under this subsection shall be known as ‘Opportunity Corps’ and may include the following types of national service programs:

‘(A) A community corps program that meets unmet human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs and promotes greater community unity through the use of organized teams of participants of varied social and economic backgrounds, skill levels, physical and developmental capabilities, ages, ethnic backgrounds, or genders.

‘(B) A professional corps program that recruits and places qualified participants in positions--

‘(i) such as teachers, nurses and other health care providers, police officers, early childhood development staff, engineers, or other professionals providing service to meet educational, human, environmental, or public safety needs in communities with an inadequate number of such professionals;

‘(ii) that may include a salary in excess of the maximum living allowance authorized in subsection (a)(3) of section 140, as provided in subsection (c) of such section; and

‘(iii) that are sponsored by public or private employers who agree to pay 100 percent of the salaries and benefits (other than any national service educational award under subtitle D) of the participants.

‘(C) A community service program designed to meet the needs of rural communities, using teams or individual placements to address the development needs of rural communities, including the issues of rural poverty, health care, education, and job training.

‘(D) A program that seeks to eliminate hunger and improve nutrition in communities and rural areas through service in projects--

‘(ii) involving the gleaning of prepared and unprepared food that would otherwise be discarded as unusable so that the usable portion of such food may be donated to food banks, food pantries, faith-based entities, and other nonprofit organizations;

‘(iv) involving the preparation and delivery of nutritious food and the dissemination of nutrition education to critically and chronically ill individuals;

‘(v) seeking to address the long-term causes of hunger through education and the delivery of appropriate services; or

‘(vi) providing training in basic health, nutrition, and life skills necessary to alleviate hunger in communities and rural areas.

‘(E) An E-Corps program that involves participants who provide services in a community by developing and assisting in carrying out technology programs which seek to increase access to technology and the benefits thereof in such community.

‘(F) A program that engages citizens in public safety, public health, and emergency and disaster preparedness, and may include the recruitment and placing of qualified participants in positions to be trainees as law enforcement officers, firefighters, search and rescue personnel, and emergency medical service workers, and may engage Federal, State, and local stakeholders in collaboration to organize more effective responses to issues of public safety and public health, emergencies, and disasters.

‘(G) A program, initiative, or partnership that seeks to expand the number of mentors for youths (including by recruiting high-school and college-aged individuals to enter into mentoring relationships), including mentors for disadvantaged youths, either through provision of direct mentoring services, provision of supportive services to direct mentoring service organizations (in the case of a partnership), or through the creative utilization of current and emerging technologies to connect youth with mentors.

‘(H) A program that has the primary purpose of re-engaging court-involved youth and adults with the goal of reducing recidivism.

‘(I) Programs to support the needs of veterans or active duty service members and their families, including providing opportunities to participate in service projects, such as sending care packages to members of the Armed Forces deployed in combat zones overseas.

‘(K) Assisting in building, improving, and preserving affordable housing and in the construction and rehabilitation of housing units, including energy efficient homes, for economically disadvantaged individuals.

‘(L) Assisting individuals in obtaining access to health care for themselves or their children.

‘(P) Promoting community-based efforts to reduce crime and recruiting public safety officers into service opportunities to work with disadvantaged youth.

‘(Q) A musician and artist corps program that trains and deploys skilled musicians and artists to promote greater community unity through the use of music and arts education and engagement through work in low income communities, education, healthcare and therapeutic settings, and other work in the public domain with citizens of all ages.

‘(R) Such other national service programs addressing unmet human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs as the Corporation may designate.

‘(2) OPPORTUNITY CORPS INDICATORS- The corps indicators for programs under this subsection are--

‘(A) financial literacy among economically disadvantaged individuals;

‘(B) housing units built or improved for economically disadvantaged individuals or low-income families;

‘(C) economically disadvantaged individuals with access to job training and other skill enhancement;

‘(F) established or improved access to technology in the community where service is provided;

‘(G) mentor relationships among disadvantaged youth;

‘(H) food security among economically disadvantaged individuals;

‘(I) service opportunities through the programs described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (F) for economically disadvantaged individuals;

‘(J) an additional indicator relating to improving economic opportunity for economically disadvantaged individuals that the Corporation, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the Attorney General, establishes for a given year;

‘(K) a local indicator (applicable to a particular eligible entity and on which an improvement in performance is needed) relating to improving economic opportunity for economically disadvantaged individuals, proposed by that eligible entity in an application submitted to, and approved by, a State Commission or the Corporation under this section;

‘(L) increase capacity of local nonprofit organizations to meet the needs of disadvantaged people and communities;

‘(M) any additional indicator proposed by a Governor or State Commission that is approved by the Corporation; and

‘(N) any additional local indicator (applicable to a particular eligible entity and on which an improvement in performance is needed) that is approved by the Corporation.

‘(c) Priorities for Certain Required Corps- In awarding financial assistance and approved national service positions to eligible entities proposed to carry out the required corps described in subsection (a)--

‘(1) in the case of a corps described in subsection (a)(2)--

‘(A) the Corporation may give priority to such eligible entities that propose to develop policies to provide, and provide, support for participants who, after completing service under this section, will undertake careers to improve performance on health indicators; and

‘(B) the Corporation shall give priority to such eligible entities that propose to carry out national service programs in medically underserved areas (as designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as an area with a shortage of personal health services); and

‘(2) in the case of a corps described in subsection (a)(3), the Corporation shall give priority to such eligible entities that propose to recruit individuals for the Clean Energy Corps so that significant percentages of participants in the Corps are economically disadvantaged individuals, and provide to such individuals support services and education and training to develop skills needed for clean energy jobs for which there is current demand or projected future demand.

‘(d) Consultation on Performance Indicators- The Corporation shall consult with the Secretaries of Education, Health and Human Services, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Department of Interior, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Attorney General, as appropriate, in developing additional performance indicators for the corps and programs described in subsections (a) and (b).

‘(e) Qualification Criteria To Determine Eligibility-

‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT BY CORPORATION- The Corporation shall establish qualification criteria for different types of national service programs for the purpose of determining whether a particular national service program should be considered to be a national service program eligible to receive assistance or approved national service positions under this subtitle.

‘(2) CONSULTATION- In establishing qualification criteria under paragraph (1), the Corporation shall consult with organizations and individuals with extensive experience in developing and administering effective national service programs or regarding the delivery of human, educational, environmental, or public safety services to communities or persons.

‘(3) APPLICATION TO SUBGRANTS- The qualification criteria established by the Corporation under paragraph (1) shall also be used by each recipient of assistance under section 121(a) that uses any portion of the assistance to conduct a grant program to support other national service programs.

‘(4) ENCOURAGEMENT OF INTERGENERATIONAL COMPONENTS OF PROGRAMS- The Corporation shall encourage national service programs eligible to receive assistance or approved national service positions under this subtitle to establish, if consistent with the purposes of the program, an intergenerational component of the program that combines students, out-of-school youths, disadvantaged youth, and older adults as participants to provide services to address unmet human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs.

‘(f) National Service Priorities-

‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT-

‘(A) BY CORPORATION- In order to concentrate national efforts on meeting certain human, educational, environmental, or veterans’ needs and to achieve the other purposes of this Act, the Corporation, consistent with the strategic plan approved under section 192A(g)(1), shall establish (and may periodically alter) priorities regarding the types of national service programs and corps to be assisted under section 129 and the purposes for which such assistance may be used. In establishing such priorities, the Corporation--

‘(i) shall select 2 or more of the corps described in subsection (a) to receive assistance under section 129(d); and

‘(ii) may select other programs described in subsection (b) to receive assistance under such section.

‘(B) BY STATES- Consistent with paragraph (4), States shall establish, and through the national service plan process described in section 178(e)(1), periodically alter priorities as appropriate regarding the national service programs to be assisted under section 129(d) and 129(e). The State priorities shall be subject to Corporation review as part of the application process under section 130.

‘(2) NOTICE TO APPLICANTS- The Corporation shall provide advance notice to potential applicants of any national service priorities to be in effect under this subsection for a fiscal year. The notice shall specifically include--

‘(A) a description of any alteration made in the priorities since the previous notice; and

‘(B) a description of the national service programs that are designated by the Corporation under section 133(d)(2) as eligible for priority consideration in the next competitive distribution of assistance under section 121(a).

‘(3) REGULATIONS- The Corporation shall by regulation establish procedures to ensure the equitable treatment of national service programs that--

‘(A) receive funding under this subtitle for multiple years; and

‘(B) would be adversely affected by annual revisions in such national service priorities.

‘(4) APPLICATION TO SUBGRANTS- Any national service priorities established by the Corporation under this subsection shall also be used by each recipient of funds under section 121(a) that uses any portion of the assistance to conduct a grant program to support other national service programs.

‘(g) Requirements for Tutors-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Corporation shall require that each recipient of assistance under the national service laws that operates a tutoring program involving elementary or secondary school students certifies that individuals serving in approved national service positions as tutors in such program have--

‘(A) either--

‘(i) obtained their high school diploma; or

‘(ii) passed a proficiency test demonstrating that such individuals have the skills necessary to achieve program goals; and

‘(B) have successfully completed pre- and in-service training for tutors.

‘(2) EXCEPTION- The requirements in paragraph (1) do not apply to an individual serving in an approved national service position who is enrolled in an elementary or secondary school and is providing tutoring services through a structured, school-managed cross-grade tutoring program.

‘(h) Requirements for Tutoring Programs- Each tutoring program that receives assistance under the national service laws shall--

‘(1) offer a curriculum that is high quality, research-based, and consistent with the State academic content standards required by section 1111 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311) and the instructional program of the local educational agency; and

‘(i) Citizenship Training- The Corporation shall establish requirements for recipients of assistance under the national service laws relating to the promotion of citizenship and civic engagement, that are consistent with the principles on which citizenship programs administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are based and are appropriate to the age, education, and experience of the participants enrolled in approved national service positions and approved summer of service positions.

‘(j) Report- Not later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year for which the Corporation makes grants under section 121(a), the Corporation shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report containing--

‘(1) information describing how the Corporation allocated financial assistance and approved national service positions among eligible entities proposed to carry out national service corps described in that subsection (a) for that fiscal year; and

‘(2) information describing the amount of financial assistance and the number of approved national service positions the Corporation provided to each national service corps described in subsection (a) for that fiscal year;

‘(3) a measure of the extent to which the national service corps improved performance on the corresponding indicators; and

‘(4) information describing how the Corporation is coordinating--

‘(A) the national service corps funded under subsection (a); with

‘(B) applicable programs, as determined by the Corporation, carried out under subtitles B of this title, and part A of title I and parts A and B of title II of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq., 5001, 5011) that improve performance on those indicators or otherwise address identified community needs.’.

SEC. 1303. TYPES OF POSITIONS.

Section 123 (42 U.S.C. 12573) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (2)(A) by inserting after ‘subdivision of a State,’ the following: ‘a Territory,’; and

(2) in paragraph (5)--

(A) by inserting ‘National’ before ‘Civilian Community Corps’; and

(B) by inserting before the period ‘the Summer of Service program under section 120(c)(, the ServeAmerica Fellowship under 198B or the Silver Scholarship under section 198C(a)’.

i personally think that when you add this GIVE program, should it be passed, to an american economy that is on the verge of total collapse, hyperinflation is coming, just wait, with a world economy that is on the verge of collapse, with the call for a global currency by france, russia, china, and the UN... I think the reality of america and this world is at a crossroads. i will be watching the outcome of the G20 very closely

i see the GIVE program as a program that legislates peoples personal time, in otherwords takes away from peoples freedoms. this bill itself is not overtly inflamatory, but its a stepping stone to a greater socialist adgenda. I dont need the government telling my children how to spend their time, i take responsibility for keeping my children in programs that are for their betterment and help them to better achieve things in their life. its not the goverments place to do my job. i dont need a socialist adgenda based conscience and certainly do not want it. there are plenty of social parasites who voted for a leader to tell them how to spend their time, i say let them volutneer and let it end there.You know Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump. Slow, yes. Retarded, maybe. Braces on his legs. But he charmed the pants off Nixon and he won a ping-pong competition? That ain’t retarded.

ck, i'm glad you chimed in. i'd like to get a lot of diverse opinions on this. maybe this will even entice x3 out of the woodwork. lol.

i don't think the HS kids doing volunteer work is the really the whole issue, it also extends to middle school and college kids. also, from some of the working, they indicated it wouldn't be "volunteer" at all - it would be mandatory.

i'm not sure how something like this would be integrated then? does that mean the /volunteer/work would be part of the curriculum? if so, that's not really volunteer if it's a course requirement. is it considered as a supplement to studies, like after school programs? if it is, and it's voluntary, then how does that actually change anything from what we have now - why create an act that wouldn't change anything?

some of the things in the bill are kinda weird. it lists a lot of 'job' work, or what i would call a job. like "weatherizing and retrofitting housing units for low-income households to significantly improve the energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions of such housing units" wouldn't that be something that a trained professional would do? or that since teh unemployment rate rising, offering the jobs/training to them?

or "the repair, renovation, or rehabilitation of an existing infrastructure facility including, but not limited to, rail, mass transportation, ports, inland navigation, schools and hospitals" is that really a good idea to have middle school to college age children working on railways, mass transportation, ports, and inland navigation?

here is the bit from teh bill about the prgrams. it does state in the section title as "required":

From what I understand from the bill, the only time it's actually "required" is if you're going to be receiving federal grant money for assistance. It's referencing this:

So basically if you are a recipient of a grant under that program, you are going to be required to do this volunteer work. We can argue over whether or not it's "volunteer" but in any case it will be helping people.

i see the GIVE program as a program that legislates peoples personal time, in otherwords takes away from peoples freedoms. this bill itself is not overtly inflamatory, but its a stepping stone to a greater socialist adgenda. I dont need the government telling my children how to spend their time, i take responsibility for keeping my children in programs that are for their betterment and help them to better achieve things in their life. its not the goverments place to do my job. i dont need a socialist adgenda based conscience and certainly do not want it. there are plenty of social parasites who voted for a leader to tell them how to spend their time, i say let them volutneer and let it end there.

I'm always wary of the "slippery slope" argument. This is just an extension of education, which already is government legislation of people's time. You are REQUIRED to go to school at least for 9 years. You are REQUIRED to attend school during its operating hours, and if you aren't in attendance for the required period of time you are forced to go more or get a GED. This is simply an extension of that...

What makes this so different? What is so radical about it? And I don't see why this word "socialist" is treated so badly...methinks by the end of this crisis it will be the socialized nations that will be left standing on top. They are better educated, healthier, and in many cases even have superior rates of productivity. Freedom and equality don't have to be antitheses...I would argue that greater equality means more freedom. Without it, we are simply slaves to circumstance...some people are more "free" than others.

the big comparison that i hear being thrown around is it (HR1388) is, or could become, a precursor to something in the vein of the "hitler youth" program. or at least, that was the initial reaction that i saw through some news outlets and heard on the radio.

i looked up the hitler youth [aka hitler-jugend] on wikipedia.org and here is what it says:

Quote:

The HJ was organized into corps under adult leaders, and the general membership comprised boys aged fourteen to eighteen. From 1936, membership of the HJ was compulsory for all young German men. The HJ was also seen as an important stepping stone to future membership of the elite Schutzstaffel (the SS). Members of the HJ were particularly proud to be bestowed with the single Sig Rune (victory symbol) by the SS. The SS utilized two Sig Runes as their mark, and this gesture served to symbolically link the two groups.

The HJ was organized into local cells on a community level. Such cells had weekly meetings at which various Nazi doctrines were taught by adult HJ leaders. Regional leaders typically organized rallies and field exercises in which several dozen Hitler Youth cells would participate. The largest HJ gathering usually took place annually, at Nuremberg, where members from all over Germany would converge for the annual Nazi Party rally.

The HJ maintained training academies comparable to preparatory schools. They were designed to nurture future Nazi Party leaders, and only the most radical and devoted HJ members could expect to attend.

The HJ also maintained several corps designed to develop future officers for the Wehrmacht. The corps offered specialist pre-training for each of the specific arms for which the HJ member was ultimately destined. The Marine Hitler Youth, for example, was the largest such corps and served as a water rescue auxiliary to the Kriegsmarine[citations needed].

Another branch of the HJ was the Deutsche Arbeiter Jugend - HJ (German Worker Youth - HY). This organization within the Hitler Youth was a training ground for future labor leaders and technicians. Its symbol was a rising sun with a swastika.

the parallels may be being drawn because of the references to different /corps/ (which is the key word in HR 1388) of childern as well as references to the service being "a training ground for future labor leaders and technicians."

that is a very strong comparison and i would hope that our nation would never go down that path.ZERO

the big comparison that i hear being thrown around is it (HR1388) is, or could become, a precursor to something in the vein of the "hitler youth" program. or at least, that was the initial reaction that i saw through some news outlets and heard on the radio.

"If I see a murderous fellow sharpening his knife cleverly, I can borrow his way of sharpening the knife without borrowing his probable intention to commit murder with it; and so if I see a monarchist dyed in the wool managing his public bureau well, I can learn his business methods without changing one of my republican spots."

- Woodrow Wilson

The Hitler Youth program was astronomically effective. Just as the above quote, it matters not what the underlying intention was, the fact of the matter is that it worked and worked well. Just because Nazis may have had a similar program does not automatically mean it's a bad idea. Nazis were also the first to put up public smoking bans. Research in medicine, chemistry, and aeronautics by the Nazis was vast. Surely you don't think that when we took over Nazi Germany that we simply discarded this vast wealth of information and knowledge?

Switzerland has a similar program going on right now. All young males make up Switzerland's reserve militia. When you are 18 you are issued an assault rifle to serve in these reserves. When you are not in active combat (which is pretty much always because Switzerland is never at war) you do community service projects. Israel has a similar program. Sweden has a similar program. But of course no one is going to bring up these modern, successful programs because that doesn't have nearly the emotional impact as saying "this is like Hitler's Youth" (ignoring the fact that Hitler's Youth actually did some good things.) This is just ignorant fear-mongering like always.

Expecting and encouraging people to do service for their community isn't a terrible thing. We really, really need to get away from this self-interested ideology. I feel like this "rational self-interest" ideology has permeated so many fields of discipline that we just accept it as universally true. It's not.

Well no surprise we just see things differently. I hear what you’re saying I just don’t agree with it. A socialist government is a large departure from the government the constitution lays out. I believe you are correct however, that at the end of all this we will be a socialist nation. I think that is the current administrations agenda that is why they are pushing through so many programs so fast and will continue to do so. My concern over these volunteer organizations is not out of my own selfish motives, it’s quite the opposite. These types of organizations can quickly turn into the self righteous 'us vs. them' your either with us or your against us, organizations that took place in Germany. Given the right set of circumstances, such as a potentially cataclysmic failing world economy, potential hyper inflation, and a US government that may very well end up owning/controlling damn near everything when all is said and done. That puts too much power into their hands and not any in the peoples. My concern is not out of a myopic view of just this HR 1388 but it includes the fact that the AmeriCorp funding just got increased for the 54,000 volunteer to $5.7 billion for 250,000 volunteers… with allowances for educations centers, uniforms… as well as the strong shift so socialist policies and a very troubling American and world economy.

I am not an economic expert by any stretch, but with all the trouble we are in financially; do we really need to be spending nearly $6 billion on volunteers? Is that a rational thing to do given our debt? Couldn't we really do something better with that money? There was such an outcry over AIG bonuses of $165 million, $165 million is not chump change, but compared to 6 billion for volunteerism? That nobody was talking about in the press, hmm.

These AIG employees, who actually performed their jobs according to a legal contract, most of whom did nothing wrong have been getting death threats, for what? Because they are were vilanized by media. So what happened next? They got taxed 90% because even though there was no legal precedence, congress did it because it was a popular move, the people were screaming unfair, so they disregarded law, and levied a tax based on public whim not law. I am not saying I like seeing public money go to these kind of bonuses, but congress compromised the law there. Again there is not much consistent logic being applied by the press or the congress and it concerns me. Again its all these things being added up that could make for some troubling times ahead.

I just read an article that of course has a particular slant to this Americorp increase, it does make some valid thinking points.

Quote:

Expanded Americorps has an authoritarian feel
By Examiner Editorial
- 3/26/09
With almost no public attention, both chambers of Congress in the past week advanced an alarming expansion of the Americorps national service plan, with the number of federally funded community service job increasing from 75,000 to 250,000 at a cost of $5.7 billion. Lurking behind the feel-good rhetoric spouted by the measure’s advocates is a bill that on closer inspection reveals multiple provisions that together create a strong odor of creepy authoritarianism. The House passed the measure overwhelmingly, while only 14 senators had the sense and courage to vote against it on a key procedural motion. Every legislator who either voted for this bill or didn’t vote at all has some serious explaining to do.
Last summer, then-candidate Barack Obama threw civil liberties to the wind when he proposed “a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded” as the regular military. The expanded Americorps is not quite so disturbing, but a number of provisions in the bill raise serious concerns.

To begin with, the legislation threatens the voluntary nature of Americorps by calling for consideration of “a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people.” It anticipates the possibility of requiring “all individuals in the United States” to perform such service – including elementary school students. The bill also summons up unsettling memories of World War II-era paramilitary groups by saying the new program should “combine the best practices of civilian service with the best aspects of military service,” while establishing “campuses” that serve as “operational headquarters,” complete with “superintendents” and “uniforms” for all participants. It allows for the elimination of all age restrictions in order to involve Americans at all stages of life. And it calls for creation of “a permanent cadre” in a “National Community Civilian Corps.”

But that’s not all. The bill also calls for “youth engagement zones” in which “service learning” is “a mandatory part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency.” This updated form of voluntary community service is also to be “integrated into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics curricula” at all levels of schooling. Sounds like a government curriculum for government approved “service learning,” which is nothing less than indoctrination. Now, ask yourself if congressmen who voted for this monstrosity had a clue what they were voting for. If not, they’re guilty of dereliction of duty. If yes, the implications are truly frightening.

UPDATE:

Between being first officially "reported" to the House and being voted on by the full House, bill managers stripped one whole section of the measure that created a Congressional Commission on Civil Service, thus removing the section that contained the language cited above concerning "a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people" and a possible requirement for "all individuals in the United States" to perform such service. The section could be restored during the Senate-House conference committee meeting. A new, separate bill containing that language has since been introduced in the House.

WK - you ARE the government. We always think of "the government" as this over-arching entity that spreads its tentacles into every walk of life. But that completely takes away the humanity of our system. The government is you. Your neighbors. The people you interact with every day. The guy that delivers your mail - he is the government.

We've got this idea that the market allows us more freedom and that the forces of supply and demand maintain an equilibrium that allows us more individual choice than what is possible with government. We put more trust in an inherently exploitative and unequal system than we do in one where we have actual political equality.

Also this idea that Congress is over-stepping its constitutional boundaries is not sound either. In fact the power of Congress has been significantly dwindling over the past century. It's executive power that is overstepping its constitutional boundaries. If you read the political theory that the people who wrote the Constitution and Declaration were reading then you would understand what I'm getting at more. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of property" is word for word stolen from John Locke. If you read the Federalist papers they are largely arguing over concepts from Jean-Jacques Rousseau. When Hamilton and Madison are arguing for a strong, centralized government they are harking back to Thomas Hobbe's Leviathan. They were much more interested in saying what government can NOT do in terms of political freedom, the locus of legislative power and executive authority (which is being breached with things like the executive order), and matters like that. If you think this is socialistic, pick up a history book and see what James Madison did with the Second Bank of the United States.

The very people who wrote the Constitution didn't agree on these matters to begin with so to make empirical claims as to whether or not the Constitution would support what's going on now is immaterial. The Constitution exists solely to guarantee certain basic political freedoms and the organization of government is entirely centered around that premise.

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